26 March 2024 , 15:08
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"Ghost" particles with answers into the origins of the universe could be discovered by a new experiment.
Astronomers believe that we may only be observing 5 per cent of the universe and it is thought that the rest is made up of hidden or “ghost” particles. And now Europe’s centre for particle research, Cern, has given the go-ahead for a £100million experiment to try and find them.
It will be done using an instrument that is a thousand times more sensitive than previous devices with the plan to smash particles against hard surfaces in a bid to spot them, rather than crack them against each other as is done by Cern’s Large Hadron Collider.
Currently particle physics is based on the theory called Standard Model where everything is made up of 17 particles, but the problem is it's now believed there are more - which would be these ghost particles.
“The project could help answer many prevailing mysteries in modern physics and expand humanity’s understanding of fundamental science beyond our current guiding theory of particle physics – the Standard Model,” states Imperial College London, with scientists from the university leading the new experiment.
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Construction of the new facility that will try and detect the mystery particles, known as “hidden sector particles” will begin in 2027. Attempts so far to spot them have failed and they interact very weakly if at all with the particles of the Standard Model.
“The approval of SHiP marks a new era in the search for hidden sector particles,” said Prof Andrey Golutvin, of ICL who is leading the Search For Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment, which involves 54 institutes in 18 countries. “SHiP has the unique possibility to solve several of the major problems of Standard Model of particle physics and we have the prospect of discovering particles that have never been seen before.”
The experiment is aiming to detect very weakly interacting particles including dark matter which does not absorb or emit detectable radiation. Dark matter cannot be seen from Earth but is thought to make up around 80% of the matter in the universe and its existence is inferred from the way galaxies move, such as how they move faster than expected in clusters.
Prof Golutvin continued: "We first proposed this experiment 10 years ago, when we understood there was no immediate evidence for new particles in the data from the Large Hadron Collider. Hidden sector theories give us the prospect of solving problems of the Standard Model and as time has passed, and we have not observed new particles at the energy-frontier, the case for exploring this area has been getting stronger and stronger."
Prof Mitesh Patel said: "These particles are right under our noses, but we have never been able to see them because of the way they interact, or rather don't interact. It's too early to say if this genuinely is a deviation from the Standard Model but the potential implications are such that these results are the most exciting thing I've done in 20 years in the field."